Radio Caroline 1970s History 10

Radio Caroline 1970’s - History (10)

After five months of silence Radio Caroline managed to return to the air shortly after 9.30am on Sunday 15th April 1979 with regular programmes commencing at 11.00am. After half an hour of music, presented in English by Tony Allan, Radio Caroline's own Dutch language service started again with an new team of DJs.

Dutch programming continued throughout the day and ended with a half hour sponsored religious broadcast before the English service of Radio Caroline commenced in the evening. The launch of this new Dutch language service finally confirmed the rumours which had been circulating for some months that Radio Mi Amigo had broken its ties with the Radio Caroline organisation.

Devoid of almost any real advertising the English service of Radio Caroline started to air sponsored (largely American) religious programmes from mid June 1979. The inflow of cash which resulted from these sponsored religious broadcasts meant that within two months the 50Kw transmitter on board the Mi Amigo was brought back into service because regular fuel supplies were obtainable once again.

By contrast the Dutch Service of Radio Caroline was proving to be very successful commercially. Advertising was sold by Danny Vuylsteke, (who had previously been involved in running the Oostburg studios of the Belgian station Radio Atlantis in 1973/74) who with Ben Bode and Fred Bolland eventually took over the complete running of the station.

The Dutch Service of Radio Caroline experienced severe staff shortages in October 1979 and English DJs had to sit in and present many live programmes, while tapes of previously broadcast programmes were also repeated, sometimes more than once.

This situation of staff and supply shortages came to a head on 11th October 1979, when instead of starting the usual American religious programme tapes Radio Caroline closed its transmitter after an announcement by DJ Stephen Bishop. The English staff on board the Mi Amigo were disgruntled about the continuing staff shortages on the Dutch side of the operation and this, coupled with the shortage of fuel supplies, for which the Dutch were specifically responsible, also meant that it was impossible for Radio Caroline to maintain a 24 hour service.

Radio Caroline remained off the air throughout the following day, but returned at 7.00am on 13th October 1979 with continuous music for most of the day. Fresh supplies of fuel had reached the radio ship during the hours the station had been off the air, but there were still no new programme tapes or replacement Dutch Service DJs.

From 14th October 1979 all programmes for the Dutch Service were presented by the English DJs, while the last remaining Dutch DJ, Ad Roberts, left the Mi Amigo to try and find out what was happening with the station's organisation in Holland. A few days later, on 17th October 1979, the situation was made worse when Belgian police raided a trawler in Zeebrugge Harbour. The trawler was carrying food and supplies to the Mi Amigo as well as new programme tapes for the Dutch Service of Radio Caroline.

With the Belgian tendering route now cut, four men set out in a small boat from the Kent coast during the early hours of 28th October 1979 in a desperate attempt to get more supplies to the Mi Amigo. However, the boat's engines failed just 600 yards from the radio ship and the crew had to be rescued by the dredger Sandgull, which happened to be in the area at the time. The dredger transferred the four men to a lifeboat, which in turn took them back to Margate where they were met by police. The four, two English and two Dutch were questioned, but not detained, although a number of programme tapes they were carrying were confiscated. Eventually some Dutch DJs (including the two who had been questioned by British police) reached the Mi Amigo and on 31st October the normal Dutch Service was able to resume.

Storms hit the Mi Amigo in late November 1979 and from 26th November until 5th December only taped programmes were aired on the Dutch Service, with the news service being suspended altogether. However, as the result of improved tendering arrangements regular fuel supplies were now reaching the Mi Amigo and Radio Caroline was able to achieve 24 hours a day programming again from 14th December 1979.

1980

Both Dutch and English Services of Radio Caroline continued virtually as scheduled throughout the first three months of 1980, although an increasing number of taped (rather than live) Dutch language programmes appeared after the beginning of March. Also the weekly hour-long French language programme, which had been instigated in October 1979, was discontinued after the middle of January 1980.